Contact-chamber.



No. 857,389. PATENTED JUNE 18, 1907.

W. C. FERGUSON.

CONTACT CHAMBER. APPLIOATION FILED APR.22.1904.

j f BY 5 l C f Mij 7M ATTORNEYS -resident of Flushing,

lUNITED STATES PATENT oEEIcE.

WILLIAM C. FERGUSON, OF FLUSIIIN G, NEW YORK, ASSIGN OR TO GEN ERAL` CHEMICAL COMPANY, OF NEW YORK.

YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF .NEW-

CONTACT-CHAMBER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 18, 1907.

Application filed April 22, 1904. Serial N o. 204,327.

Be it known that I, WILLIAM FinnensON, a citizen of the United States, and a county of Queens, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Contact- Chambers, of which the following is a speciiication. i

My invention relates to contact chambers, that is, chambers adapted to contain catalytic material, such as used in the manufacture of sulfuric anhydrid and sulfuric acid according to the contact process.

My invention has for its object principally to so construct a contact heat of the reaction going on in the chamber may be radiated into the surrounding air to a sufficient extent to keep the temperature in thecontact chamber within eiiicient limits, and particularly prevent the temperature from rising to such a point as to necessitate the provision of special cooling devices.

Another feature of my invention is the construction of the contact chamber in such a manner that compensation may be made readily for variations of temperature inthe room in which the contact chamber is placed. Obviously if'the radiating surface were the same in winter'as in summer, thecooling eect would be too considerable in winter, and my invention provides simple yet eflicient means for regulatingthe extent of the radiating surface.

I will now describe two forms of my invention which have been illustrated as eX- amples in the accompanying drawings and then the novel features of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Fi res 1 and 2 are sectional elevations of two orms of my improved contact chamber; nd Fig. 3 is a cross-section on line 3-3 of In carrying out my invention the contact chamber is made in the shape of a long and comparatively narrow tube within which theytic material is arranged in any suitupon supportn shelves supp orting the 'ber the shap chamber that the the converted gas, that is, sulfuric anhydrid, leaves the apparatus. Care the perforated contact material D. The same parts are designated by the corresponding small letters in Figs. 2 and 3. It will be seen that by giving the contact chamouter surface of which is exposed to the surrounding air, a very efiicient cooling eHect may be obtained by simple radiation. This is simply a question of proper dimensions and of a proper choice of contact material, and of the speed with which the gas is conveyed through the chamber.

e of a long, narrow tube, the

As has been indicated hereinabove, condi- I tions of temperature in the surrounding air are likely to vary considerably, and thus the radiating effect may be subject to changes which call for'compensation. For this purpose I have provided means for regulating the extent of the radiating surface, so that such surface may be increased or diminished at will without, however, varying the internal arrangement, or, in other words, the volume of the contact chamber. This I acc omplish by applying upon a more or less convsiderable portion ofthe eX osed surface of the contact chamber a suita le non-conductor of heat to reduce radiation, as, for instancerings of asbestosor analogous material. These non-conducting coverin rings should be removable, and it is prefera le to rovide a set of them of relatively small lieight individually, so` that a greater or smaller number of such rings may be a plied, as desired. According to Fig. 1, tlib application of such non-conducting rings is greatly facilitated by providmg projections or ribs A3 on the contact chamber body A, these ribs at the same time servin to increase the radiating surface and enab ing the chamber to be made shorter than when the said projections or ribs are omitted. Between these projections or ribs the non-conducting rings E are placed as shown at the upper portion of Fig. 1. These rings are prefer ably split so that they maybe removed readily, and the projections `or ribs A3 I prefer to space evenl when the temperature is moderate a few of these non-conducting rings'willbe applied to the contact chamber should the outside temperature rise, rings will be removed; andin eXtreme cases the contact chamber might be It will be understood thatv IOO los

deprived entirely of the non-conducting lbe obvious that other shapes may be employed, if desired.

Instead of employing asbestos or analogous material to reduce radiation, I may air. This may be accomplished, as indicated in Fig. 1, by placing one or more removable rings F between the ribs or flanges A3. To Jfurther reduce radiation, if deemed advisable, heated air may be circulated through the chamber or chambers formed by the rings F,

simply use an inclosed or confined body of valved inlets F and outlets FZ being provided for this pur ose.

What I c aim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent is- 1. A contact chamber for catalytic processes, provided Wit-h a heat-retaining covering of unequal effectiveness adapted t-o cause a different amount of radiation from difiernt parts of the surface of said cont act cham- 2. A contact chamber for catalytic processes, combined Wit-h independently removable split rings of anti-radiating material surroundin said chamber at ldifferent points of its lengtIi.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

YILLIABI C. FERGUSON. Witnesses'.

T. LYNTON BRIGGs, W. G. DERBY. 

